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OTTAWA — Terry Joyce braced himself on a walker, his legs too weak to support his weight, as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge approached.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this,” he said later, after Prince William had reached him and convinced the frail man to sit.

Joyce is dying of cancer, and has been told by doctors he has only six weeks to live. But on Saturday, he said a dying wish had been granted, as he shared a few brief words with a future king and his wife.

“But I wasn’t expecting it, not until they told me last week,” he told reporters, his eyes sparkling.

The brief encounter, after a tree-planting ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa was one of the seemingly countless small, quiet conversations the world’s most famous newlyweds had Saturday as they charmed families, veterans, war brides and sick children.

A day removed from the giant crowds of Canada Day, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wrapped up their time in Ottawa on a much different, quieter note, often talking to people one-on-one, before flying to Montreal and beginning the next stage of their Canadian adventure.

As expected, the reception in Quebec was a little rougher than it had been in the nation’s capital, where throngs of adoring fans had turned out at every opportunity.

More than 100 protesters were waiting as the royals arrived at a city hospital to tour the cancer and neonatal units, with some loudly banging on tin drums, while others held signs saying “250 years of linguistic genocide” and “William, your grandma is guilty of occupation.”

But the jeers of the naysayers were drowned out by the roar of a much bigger — and louder — group of approving spectators, who climbed onto picnic tables, breaking some in the process, to get a better look at the pair.

Riot police in full gear had been brought in to contain the crowds outside, but no violence was reported.

Security quickly escorted the royals — William in a suit and Kate in a grey Kensington dress — into the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre, then out again when their visit was over. The pair didn’t linger as they had at several stops in Ottawa, disappointing some of the crowds that had showed up to get their glimpse of royalty.

“You are ruining this for everyone,” spectator Nathalie Petatoukakis said to a protester. “Because of you, we won’t see Will and Kate!”

Inside the hospital, Will and Kate met four youngsters suffering from cancer or blood diseases.

Three-year-old Jack, who has a blood disease, sat down with the prince and professed his love of bagpipes.

He hadn’t been overly excited by the high-profile visitors, but his five-year-old older sister, Katy, certainly was.

Spinning around in circles, she couldn’t wait to offer “the beautiful princess” the drawing of a butterfly.

Will and Kate also met 10-year-old Vincent Grenier, who said the prince told him “Tu es fort” (You’re strong) and that the duchess said his artwork was “super.”

After visiting the hospital, the royals rolled up their sleeves and too a culinary class at the Institut de tourisme et d’hotelier du Quebec.

“Bonjour, bonjour, ca va bien?” the prince said, greeting the chefs, sporting a white chef’s jacket as he and Premier Jean Charest duelled over who could come up with the best lobster souffle.

“It’s a bit of a souffle-off,” Will called out at one point to Charest. “If you could rise to the occasion, that would be great!”

The royals and Charest and his wife later dined together before the royals boarded a military frigate, HMCS Montreal, for a late-night voyage down the St. Lawrence to Quebec City.

Before flying to Montreal in the afternoon, Will and Kate spent some of their final time in Ottawa taking part in a tree-planting ceremony at Rideau Hall, not far from where the prince’s mother had done the same three decades ago on her first trip to Canada.

The newlyweds then took several quiet moments for reflection at the base of the tree planted by William’s mother and father, Prince Charles. Diana would have marked her 50th birthday the day before, on Canada Day.

Kate’s dress was made by designer Catherine Walker, one of Diana’s favourite designers.

Later, at a visit to the Canadian War Museum, they attended a reception for veterans and war brides.

William, who serves with the Royal Air Force, chatted with veterans, drawing laughs at times and asking several of the former soldiers about the medals adorning their chests.

Kate sat down at a table with one grey-haired couple. Several times, the royal couple’s handlers had to gently move them along to the next group.